Julie McCullough is an American model, actress and stand up
comedian. She came to prominence as the Playboy Playmate of the Month
for February 1986. She then played nanny Julie Costello on “Growing
Pains” (during 1989-1990) until she was fired on the insistence
of series star Kirk Cameron, for having posed nude in Playboy. After
leaving the series, McCullough acted in many films and made guest
appearances in television shows like “ Beverly Hills, 90210,”
“ Drexell's Class” and “The Drew Carey Show,”
to name a few. As a comedian, she has performed at the Hollywood
Improv, the Laugh Factory, and the Palms Hotel and Casino.

In August 2005, McCullough was given Outstanding Achievement in
Poetry and Poet Of Merit Awards by The International Society of Poets
in Washington, DC. She has six poems being published in a poetry book
called “Eternal Portraits.” The poems are: “The
Mask,” “Being Mrs Sutcliffe,” “The Last
Battle Cry,” “A Bunny Tale, A Prayer for Laz” and
“Carolina Gold.”

McCullough is divorced from her actor husband David Sutcliffe. The
marriage did not produce a child. She was on a basketball team with
actor Casper Van Dien for numerous years and they have stayed good
friends.

Hawaiian

Childhood and Family:

In Honolulu, Hawaii, Julie Michelle McCullough was born on January
30, 1965. She is of Irish lineage. Her parents separated when she was
4 years old, and her mother, Nancy, married Herman Paynte, a Marine,
in the following year. Due to her stepfather's job, she grew up in
several places like North Carolina, West Virginia, Florida,
Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, Nevada and California, as well as Canada
and Italy. She attended high school in Poplar Bluff, Missouri and
Allen, Texas, and that is why she considers herself Southern.

On November 10, 2001, Julie married Canadian actor David Sutcliffe
(born June 8, 1969). However, the couple later divorced in December
2003.

Growing Pains

Career:

Julie McCullough began as a teen model before her move to
California. In 1984, while living in Allen, Texas, she was spotted by
a photographer and was invited to appear in “Playboy”
magazine. As a Playboy model, she appeared in four issues: February
1985 (on the cover and as part of a “Girls of Texas”
pictorial), February 1986 (as Playmate of the Month), September 1986
(on the cover and as part of a “Farmer's Daughters”
pictorial) and October 1989 (a post-”Growing Pains”
compilation of her first three shoots with extra pictures). Due to
controversy surrounding her appearance as a Playboy centerfold, in
1989, officials of North Carolina's Azalea Festival stripped of her
crown as Azalea Queen of Wilmington.

McCullough branched to acting in 1987 with a small part in an
episode of “Who's the Boss?” called “The Way We
Was.” Later that same year, she made her feature film debut as
Polly McClatchie in Jim Wynorski's “Big Bad Mama II,”
opposite Angie Dickinson, Robert Culp and Danielle Brisebois, and
guest starred as Tracy, Stuart's girlfriend, in the comedy series
“1st & Ten: The Championship.” In the following year,
she appeared in episodes of “ Max Headroom” and “The
Adventures of Superboy” (both 1988) as well as played the role
of Susie in the Chuck Russell directed horror/science fiction film
“The Blob” (1988), which starred Shawnee Smith, Donovan
Leitch and Kevin Dillon.

It was in 1989 that McCullough joined the cast of the ABC hit
sitcom “Growing Pains” in the role of Julie Costello,
Mike's former girlfriend. She appeared in eight episodes until she
was fired in 1990 at the demand of series star Kirk Cameron. Cameron,
who had become a born again Christian several years earlier, disliked
McCullough because the actress had posed in Playboy months before
being hired, and requested her firing as a condition of his signing a
new contract. Following a big reaction from the series' fans upon her
firing, the show's producers brought back a reluctant McCullough to
give the Julie character proper send-of. Years later, Cameron
apologized to his TV family for his prior behavior and mentioned it
as his lack of maturity. He, however, did not reconcile with
McCullough.

In 1990, McCullough appeared in an episode of “The Golden
Girls” and portrayed Claire Sugarman on the made for television
film “Without Her Consent,” starring Melissa Gilbert,
Scott Valentine and Barry Tubb. She continued to make guest
appearances in television series like “Beverly Hills, 90210”
(1991, as Trina), “ The Munsters Today” (1991, as
Stephanie), “Harry and the Hendersons” (1991, as Darcy
Warren), “Harry and the Hendersons” (1992, as Uma) and
“Drexell's Class” (1991, as Rosie; 1992, as School
Secretary). She also landed roles in such films as “Revenge of
the Nerds” (1991, TV), Alan Roberts' comedy “Round Trip
to Heaven” (1992), in which she played the role of Lucille
Johnson, “Arly Hanks” (1993, TV, starred Kate Jackson,
Ron Perlman and Polly Bergen), Paul Leder's thriller, “The Baby
Doll Murders” (1993), John Harwood's “A Letter to Dad”
(1994, starred John Ashton, Thom Mathews and Corin Nemec) and “The
St. Tammany Miracle” (1994, starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Soleil
Moon Frye and Jamie Luner).

McCullough landed the regular role of Stacey Wright in the USA
Network drama series “Robin's Hoods,” co-starring Linda
Purl, David Gail and Jennifer Campbell. The show ran for a season
between September 1994 and March 1995. The remaining of the decade
saw McCullough appear in episodes of “The Drew Carey Show”
(1995), “High Tide” (1996, 1997, as Meg Kelsey) and
“Pacific Blue” (1999, as Carol Best) as well as in the
films “Echo of Blue” (1996), “Top of the World”
(1997), “Breast Men” (1997) and “Me and Will”
(1999).

In the new millennium, McCullough co-starred in the action/drama
film “Intrepid,” which was directed by John Putch and
starred James Coburn, Costas Mandylor and Finola Hughes, and guest
starred in “Relic Hunter ” (2000, as Erica, The Erotic)
and “ Black Scorpion” (2001, as Dr. Ariel Haze/Pollutia).
After a short hiatus, she resurfaced in 2004 with a part in the film
“West from North Goes South,” starring Shawn David
Thompson, Amelia Barrett and Morris Day. Also in 2004, she did a 50
city tour of the USA as a Playboy Bunny and voiced herself as a
tutorial guide in the video game “Playboy: The Mansion.”

McCullough returned to feature films when she appeared as red
carpet hostess in “Jack Rio,” a 2008 thriller movie
starring Matthew Borlenghi, Mary Kate Schellhardt and Sean Kanan. She
went on to portray Annie in the drama/family film “A Letter to
Dad” (2009), for which she also wrote additional dialogue. In
2011, she starred as Teri Hart in the the direct to video action film
“2012: Ice Age,” opposite Patrick Labyorteaux and Katie
Wilson.

Nowadays, McCullough pursues a career as a stand up comedian. She
has performed at the Hollywood Improv, the Palms Hotel and Casino,
and the Laugh Factory.